Lane Shelton

Lane Shelton is Vice President of Software Business Development at Connection with over 18 years of experience in the areas of Microsoft technology and licensing, software asset management, cloud computing, and software investment management. In addition, he is an SIIA-certified software asset management professional. When he has free time, Lane enjoys old-school PC gaming.

Articles by Lane Shelton

Upgrade to Windows Server 2012 to Safeguard Servers

Windows 2003 reached “end-of-life” earlier this year, but for better or worse the OS still works. The “for better” part is that your operations continue to chug along without a hitch. But the “for worse” side of the equation is that, when you need support, you won’t get any from Microsoft. And overall security will continue to decline as more threats are introduced and no security patches are issued to protect against them. It was good while it lasted, but honestly everyone will be better off if you move on from 2003 sooner rather than later. Read on for why it’s time.

Three Reasons Why It’s Past Time You Made the Switch

Aside from the fact that your 2003 versions of Windows Server are probably running on outdated equipment and not performing up to today’s standards, there are three things that can put your operations in jeopardy if you don’t upgrade soon.

Don’t Forget Project and Visio

I’ve been reading on Technet and other blogs about co-existence issues between MSI and Click-to-Run installations of Office 2013 products. Can’t say for sure if this will continue when Office 2016 comes out, but if I had a nickel…I’d say yes. It seems probable due to the way that click-to-run (C2R) technology works. Most organizations have Project and Visio out there, but when you’re moving to Office 365 it’s easy to forget about them. All the focus is on setting up Cloud IDs and dealing with Office. But if you have users that will be on Office C2R, you need to also plan for their Project and Visio too. Here’s why.

And They’re Free

Security is first on everyone’s list of priorities in the digital landscape, and Microsoft is trying to make it easier for you with their three new star features. Windows 10 is offering three big-deal security changes—all are free with the upgrade, too, which may be one way Microsoft intends upon making up to everyone who was disappointed in Windows 8. Read on to find out more.

What It Could Mean in Practical Terms

Windows 10 represents a significant evolution in the relationship between deploying the Windows OS and licensing the Windows OS. We’ve already seen other major changes to Windows licensing: the introduction of the user-based subscription, the ability to purchase an upgrade license to Windows Enterprise without the need for Software Assurance—and there are more changes to come. One of the most significant changes specific to Windows 10, however, is the way you’ll be consuming updates. Until Windows 10, there’s always been something of a dividing line between security updates and features updates. Security updates are quick and ongoing, while the features updates are rolled into big groupings—and deploying those is usually a heavy lift for IT.

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